As minimally invasive techniques and instruments for placement of intraluminal devices have developed over recent years, the number and types of treatment devices have proliferated as well. Stents, stent grafts, occlusion devices, artificial valves, shunts, etc., have provided successful treatment for a number of conditions that heretofore required surgery or lacked an adequate solution altogether. Minimally invasive intravascular devices have especially become popular with the introduction of coronary stents to the U.S. market in the early 1990s. Coronary and peripheral stents have been proven to provide a superior means of maintaining vessel patency, however, they have subsequently been used in conjunction with grafts as a repair for abdominal aortic aneurysm, fibers or other materials as occlusion devices, and as an intraluminal support for artificial valves, among other uses.
Some of the chief goals in designing stents and related devices include providing sufficient radial strength to supply sufficient force to the vessel and prevent device migration. An additional concern in peripheral use, is having a stent that is resistant to external compression. Self-expanding stents are superior in this regard to balloon expandable stents which are more popular for coronary use. The challenge is designing a device that can be delivered to the target vessel in as small of a configuration as possible, while still being capable of adequate expansion. Self-expanding stents usually require larger struts than balloon expandable stents, thus increasing their profile. When used with fabric or other coverings that require being folded into a delivery catheter, the problem is compounded.
There exists a need to have a basic stent, including a fabric covering, that is capable of being delivered with a low profile, while still having a sufficient expansion ratio to permit implantation in larger vessels, if desired, while being stable, self-centering, and capable of conforming to the shape of the vessel.